


Just The Way You Are

by tonnyerenthing



Category: Ensemble Stars! (Video Game)
Genre: Fluff, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-12-18
Updated: 2017-09-01
Packaged: 2018-09-09 16:19:24
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 12,942
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8899075
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tonnyerenthing/pseuds/tonnyerenthing
Summary: Hokuto-senpai coughs and asks me if I want to talk about what happened over drinks and a snack after school and my face feels like it’s on fire.“You don’t have to! I think I’ll be okay.”“Are you sure? It would be my pleasure to help you find a way to avoid being dressed up against you will again.”My pleasure… My heart skips a beat and I find myself agreeing before I have a moment to think about it. Has Hokuto-senpai always been this dreamy?_____Mashiro Tomoya, or rather, peach-chan on twitter, is finally getting close to his crush. With the help of his mysterious twitter friend that goes by 'tomochin'. Who seems to be going on dates at the same time as he is.





	1. The First Date

**1:23p.m.: Yumenosaki Academy, outside the theatre clubroom.**

“Someone help me!” I sprint down the hallway looking for someone, _anyone_ , to save me from the theater club president. He’s trying to get me into one of his ridiculous costumes again and I don’t want to go out dressed in a maid outfit with a wig and thrown into the streets of Akiba. Not today. I round the bend of the hallway and almost smash right into Nii-chan.

“Tomochin? What’s the matter? Why are you running in the hallways?”

“Ahh! Nii-chan, please you have to help me find Hokuto-senpai!”

He looks confused. “What? Why?”

“It’s the Masked Pervert of a theater club president! He’s trying to…”

Loud footsteps sound behind us and I turn only to scream. Nii-chan looks incredibly confused and I excuse myself. I sprint down the hallway and stairs, desperate to find Hokuto-senpai. If my sister sees me in Akiba dressed like that I’ll never forgive myself!

“Tomoya-kun, come here!”

“No!” My reply comes out as a desperate screech and I can’t seem to run fast enough. I glance behind me and let out a loud cry when I find that damn Masked Pervert is gaining on me. Where on earth is Hokuto-senpai? “Hokuto-senpai! Save meeeeeeee!”

The drama club president grabs onto my hand and I let out a loud shriek, which is immediately followed by an equally as loud, “Tomoya?” I almost cry at the sound of Hokuto-senpai’s voice. He seems to appear out of nowhere and I pull my hand away from the Masked Pervert’s, running to Hokuto-senpai and hiding behind him. I cling to the back of his blazer and try not to cry.

“Hibiki-buchou, what are you trying to do with Tomoya?”

“Hokuto-kun! You’re just in time! I was going to have Tomoya-kun make his debut in Akiba!”

“Debut?”

“Yes! As a maid in one of the best maid cafés in the entirety of Akiba!”

Hokuto-senpai sighs and I hold onto his blazer tighter: peeking over his shoulder to look at Hibiki-senpai. Hibiki-senpai grins at me and I bury my face into Hokuto-senpai’s neck.

“I don’t want to be a maid…”

“That’s that.” Hokuto-senpai’s voice has an air of finality and authority in it. “Tomoya doesn’t want to do it and he won’t. You should really start asking for permission before you dress him up, Hibiki-buchou. I’ve heard about the kigurumi incident and am not pleased.”

Hibiki-senpai laughs. “That was fantastic! He was brilliant!”

Hokuto-senpai shakes his head and Hibiki-senpai excuses himself while telling me that we’ll meet again. I groan then jump away when I realize how close I am to Hokuto-senpai.

“Aahh! I-I-I’m sorry!! I didn’t mean to get so close to you!” My face burns and I notice that Hokuto-senpai’s face is… red, too? I swallow hard and can’t bring myself to look him in the eye. Hokuto-senpai coughs and asks me if I want to talk about what happened over drinks and a snack after school and my face feels like it’s on fire.

“You don’t have to! I think I’ll be okay.”

“Are you sure? It would be my pleasure to help you find a way to avoid being dressed up against you will again.”

 _My pleasure…_ My heart skips a beat and I find myself agreeing before I have a moment to think about it. Has Hokuto-senpai always been this dreamy? He says to meet him at a small café at around five thirty. I say I’ll be there and then immediately worry about my clothes.

 

**4:10p.m.: my room.**

The entirety of my wardrobe is lying on my bedroom floor. My mom has been in twice to tell me to clean it up, and every time she asks if I heard her I give her a thumbs up. What the hell am I supposed to wear? I really like Hokuto-senpai… I don’t want him to think the only clothes I have to wear are my school uniform and what the transfer student gives me. I sigh and flop onto my bed. It’s already been two hours of this nonsense. Why can’t I just pick something? Sheesh. I may as well ask my twitter friend. Maybe he knows what to do.

peach-chan: @trickhokke help me! i have a date and dont know what to wear!

tomochin: @tomoshi hmm. Could you do something simple?

peach-chan: @trickhokke simple? ｢(ﾟﾍﾟ)

tomochin: @tomoshi like a sweater over a collared shirt perhaps.

peach-chan: @trickhokke aahh! that sounds perfect! thanks tomochin!!

tomochin: @tomoshi: you’re welcome, peach-chan.

Through the clothes mess on the floor I pick up a light green sweater with a dark green stripe on the cuffs and across the chest, a tan collared shirt, and my nicest pair of jeans. I throw them on, fiddle with my hair, then look in the mirror. I actually look pretty nice. Alright. I take a deep breath and get ready to go. I throw all my clothes onto the floor of my closet, vowing to put them away properly later, and run out to say good-bye to mom and my little sister.

I head down the stairs and pop my head into the kitchen saying that I’m headed out.

“Where are you going?”

“To a café with a friend.”

“A girl friend?”

“Guy friend.”

“Have fun, dear.”

“I’ve got my phone on me, bye.”

At the front door I pull on my sneakers, walk out, and run to the bus stop. The café Hokuto-senpai wants to meet at is a forty-five minute bus ride from my house—shorter of a ride than to school. The bus arrives a few minutes after I get to the stop and I’m thankful that it’s not very crowded today. It’s quiet for once, and I sink into one of the back seats while trying to calm my nerves. I’m on my way to a date with someone I really like.

I can barely believe that my first date is to figure out a plan on how to escape from the Masked Pervert’s antics. Of all the things my first date could have stemmed from why almost being forced into a maid outfit and sent into Akiba? Why couldn’t it have been Hokuto-senpai asking me to go out to dinner with him or see a movie together or go to a theme park or out to the mall to go shopping or…

I shake my head and try not to picture walking around with Hokuto-senpai holding my hand. That would be so nice… I wonder if his hands are warm. Or maybe they’re cold and when winter rolls around he’ll ask me to hold his hands in mine to warm them up? That would also be really nice. I sigh and sink further into the seat. I wonder when Hokuto-senpai became so dreamy. It seems as though it’s only been just recently that he’s become so incredibly handsome. But, maybe he’s always been that way and something changed in me? Hmm.

I stare at the green and grey blur of houses and scenery. Should I post an update to let tomochin from twitter know I’m on my way to the date and nervous?

peach-chan: finally on the bus!! on my way to the café now! (๑˃̵ᴗ˂̵)و

A moment later my phone lets off a quiet _ping!_

tomochin: @tomoshi good luck with your date. I hope you’ll tell me about it later.

peach-chan: @trickhokke ill tell you everything when i get home!

tomochin: @tomoshi have fun, I look forward to speaking with you later, peach-chan.

peach-chan: me too, tomochin!!ヽ(*≧ω≦)ﾉ

I look down at my phone and smile. Tomochin is so nice. I hope we can meet someday. Someday soon. I really enjoy speaking with him, and he always has the kindest things to say—along with the best advice. For example, in helping me pick out my outfit. I probably would have been late and arrived in my underwear if tomochin hadn’t helped me. Sheesh, that would’ve been embarrassing. Going into town and back in underwear. Just imagining what everyone would say, what _Hokuto-senpai_ would say, makes me feel sick to my stomach.

Thankfully, tomochin is on my side and the thought of that makes me feel good inside. I wonder sometimes where he got the name _t_ _omochin_ from. It’s the same as what Nii-chan calls me and I pestered once but he was really vague about it. He said that it was just a name he overheard and really liked. What if, and this is one hell of an if, he goes to Yumenosaki Academy and we’ve been passing by one another each day without knowing it?

That would really be something. I never did bother to ask what city tomochin lives in, or, well, what _country_ for that matter. He could be thousands of kilometers away and I’d never know! Tomochin is so close but so far away. Talking over twitter always makes it feel as though he’s right next to me. It would be nice if he really were.

 

**5:** **5** **1p.m.: dippy aesthetic café.**

I didn’t think Hokuto-senpai was so big into the whole aesthetic craze. Or that he may have had one in the first place. I wonder what mine would be? Something like soft sweaters and spending time with… I shake my head. This isn’t time for that! It’s date time! Although… I may just put up one more update as I walk in.

peach-chan: finally at the café!! the date has officially begun!ヾ(*ゝω・*)ノ

I find Hokuto-senpai sitting in the back staring down at his phone and smiling. I wonder who he’s talking to. He sets his phone down, and before he can say anything my phone lets out a _ping!_ I pull my phone out of my pants pocket to a twitter notification.

tomochin: @tomoshi good luck, peach-chan.

My heart swells a little. I set my phone down on the table and sit in the wicker chair across from Hokuto-senpai.

“Aahh, I’m sorry I kept you waiting.”

“It’s fine, I didn’t wait all that long.”

“Also, sorry about my phone going off, I was talking to a friend of mine on Twitter before I got here.”

“Would you mind me asking who that friend may be? Out of curiosity of course.”

“Not at all! They go by Tomochin! They’re very nice, we’ve been talking for a few months now.” Horror is written all over Hokuto-senpai’s face. “Senpai? Are you alright?”

“I-I’m fine, just fine.” Hokuto-senpai clears his throat and continues, “So, about Hibiki-buchou dressing you up in ridiculous costumes all the time.”

I can feel my face pull down into something gross. “Yes, that…”

“I think I may have a solution for you.”

Hokuto-senpai says this in a matter-of-fact tone that makes me excited. I lean across the table and grab his hands without thinking.

“Really!? You’ve come up with something to save me!”

Hokuto-senpai blushes and murmurs, “Yes… If it wouldn’t inconvenience you…”

“I’ll do anything!” My face lights up with a smile and Hokuto-senpai’s cheeks get darker.

“Well, ah, since I seem to be the only one who can stop Hibiki-buchou from dressing you up I, uh, figured that you could just spend your time outside of club and unit activities with… me.”

My heart skips a beat. Spend all my free time with Hokuto-senpai… Oh, that would be delightful! I have to force myself to refrain from saying what I’m thinking. Instead, what I tell him is that it wouldn’t inconvenience me at all. He smiles gently, and says that starting tomorrow after club and unit activities we’ll meet up by my classroom and then do whatever we need to do.

“Do you want anything to drink or eat?”

I’m stunned by the question for a moment. Thinking about it, I’m actually kind of really hungry. I really should have eaten when I got home.

“Oh, uh, yeah.”

“What would you like?”

“Uh, a blueberry crepe if they have it, and some juice. Please.”

“Excuse me, I’ll be right back with it.”

“You don’t have to…” My voice trails off as Hokuto-senpai walks away. I wonder what that face was for when I mentioned Tomochin. It was almost like _he’s_ Tomochin and embarrassed that I would know. I glance down at my phone. There’s no way Hokuto-senpai could possibly be Tomochin. I don’t ever remember him being around when Nii-chan’s ever called me that. I’m pretty sure I would have noticed, I mean, Hokuto-senpai never fails to say hello whenever he passes by.

Hmm. Who might Tomochin be? Ah ha, it’s kind of like a mystery from a TV show or a movie. I glance over at the front counter. Hokuto-senpai is in line behind two people, and hurriedly typing on his phone with a funny look on his face. I wonder who he’s talking to. I shrug to myself and decide to post a teeny update on twitter. I open the app and stop when I see tweets from Tomochin on the top of my time line.

tomochin: aaahh I’m so embarrassed

tomochin: this isn’t going anything like I had thought it would

tomochin: on a date with my crush and they may or may not have found my twitter

Tomochin is on a date, too? I wonder why he never mentioned it. Maybe I should ask about it? The temptation lingers for a moment and I decide not to pester. I don’t want to disturb him. I’ll just post an update about my date instead.

peach-chan: so far so good!! well at least i think its going well

I take a deep breath and let it out. That should do for now. I rest my chin on my palm and think back to earlier this afternoon and Hokuto-senpai looking so dreamy. The more thought I put into it the dreamier he seems to become. I’ve admired his ability to stop that damned Masked Pervert since I joined the Theater Club, but lately I’ve been noticing other things about him. Like how deep the color of his eyes are and how soft his hair seems to be.

I glance back over at the front counter. Hokuto-senpai is wearing an outfit sort of similar to mine; the main difference being he has on a cardigan type sweater and loafers. The sweater itself is fitted, and the longer I look, or, well, stare, the nicer it looks on him. I force myself to look away and shake my head. I can’t let myself get off track, this date is about saving me from the Masked Pervert.

I stretch out my shoulders, lacing my fingers together and putting them in front of me, while leaning forward slightly. I open my eyes after counting to ten and find something interesting. A crossword puzzle book with a green mechanical pencil used as a bookmark. Hoktuo-senpai does crossword puzzles in his spare time? I never thought that would be something he would like to do. There are a lot of dog eared pages, almost as though he hasn’t been able to finish those puzzles and is going to return to them later. The book itself looks kind of old, and definitely as though he’s had it for a long time. The spine is starting to come apart, and the front cover looks as though it’s about ready to fall off.

An image of Hokuto-senpai curled up in a chair with the crossword puzzle book in hand, chewing on the end of the pencil, huddled under a soft blanket, and his eyebrows knotted together while trying to work out a particularly hard word comes to mind. The only thing that could possibly make that cuter than it already is would be glasses. Hokuto-senpai in glasses…

“They didn’t have juice, so I got hot chocolate instead. Is that alright?”

I jump at the sound of Hokuto-senpai’s voice startled out of my thoughts.

“ _Oh!_ Oh, sheesh, I wasn’t paying attention and you startled me.”

Hokuto-senpai chuckles and hands me a nice china plate with little blue flower designs on it; warning me that the bottom of the plate is kind of warm. The crepes themselves look delicious. There’s two and they’re both rolled up with blueberry sauce stuffed inside, and whipped cream dollops at the bottom of each. He sets down the hot chocolate in front of my plate and it looks just as delicious as the crepes.

Looking down at what Hokuto-senpai bought me it starts to sink in that I’m absolutely ravenous and I immediately start to devour the first of my crepes.

“Aaah, they’re, mnf, rea’y good, mnf.” I’m too immersed in eating to remember how rude talking with your mouth full is, and continue speaking while gesturing at the crossword puzzle book. “You ‘o cr’sswor’ pu’les?”

“Excuse me?”

I swallow hard and repeat myself. “You do crossword puzzles?”

“Oh, uh, yeah. They’re my hobby. I try to carve out some time every day to complete at least one or two.”

“Hh lon’ne you ha’ tha’ ‘ook?” I keep speaking with my mouth full, well aware of how rude it is, but too hungry to care.

“How long have I had this book in particular?” I nod. “About a… year? Each puzzle is more difficult than the last, and there are several that I’ve been unable to complete.”

I finish the first crepe within at least two minutes and sit back in my chair feeling much better now that I’ve put something in my stomach. I take a sip of my hot chocolate and ask if, put together, the two of us could finish the puzzles he’s been unable to complete alone. Hokuto-senpai blushes and mumbles something about it being a possibility. My mind starts to wander off. Hokuto-senpai and I sitting so close our shoulders are touching… Ahh, wouldn’t that be nice…

“Wouldn’t what be nice? Tomoya?” Oh my god. I was talking out loud. Again.

“I-I-I-I, uh, um, it’s, um, you see, I was just, and then you were, and then we were, uh, and I was, and you were just...”

Hokuto-senpai chuckles and I almost melt into my chair. It must be illegal for someone to be so fine. My stomach does flips as Hokuto-senpai keeps looking at me and smiling. His smile is so dreamy I could just kiss him right now. Instead of kissing him, I slurp on my hot chocolate and try to calm myself. I’ve gotta be cool. I’ve gotta be cool and not embarrass myself. I look over the rim of my cup of hot chocolate at Hokuto-senpai. His hair looks so shiny and soft… I wanna just run my hands through it. Would he ever let me do that, though?

He plays with his phone for a moment and when he sets it down mine goes off with its quiet _ping!_ I frown. A notification from twitter.

tomochin: @tomoshi I’m sure your date is going great.

My frown deepens. The timing feels weird. Plus, he blushed earlier when I mentioned Tomochin. There’s no way Hokuto-senpai is Tomochin, right? I abandon reason and decide to ask outright.

“Senpai,” I start slowly. “Are you… Are you Tomochin on twitter?”

Hokuto-senpai’s face goes the same color of red paint and he stutters. “N-n-n-n-no! I-I’m way too busy with idol activities and other… other things to be doing something like that! The… the Idiot Duo, I mean, Akehoshi and Yuuki made me one but I never use it!”

He gulps and pulls on his shirt collar. He’s definitely lying about something. I rest my head on my palms and think that, maybe, I could use this opportunity to tease him a little bit.

“I don’t know, I mean, it’s a little suspicious that you set your phone down and mine went off.” I swing my legs back and forth under the table. He’s dreamy even when he’s flustered. “Plus, Tomochin’s username is trickhokke, y’know? Doesn’t Akehoshi-senpai call you ‘Hokke’?”

Hokuto-senpai takes a deep breath like he’s about to scream. He makes a high-pitched whine and says quickly, “Actually, you know what, why don’t we take a stroll? It’s kind of hot in here, don’t you think?”

“I don’t think I’m hot, but I definitely think you’re hot.” I freeze after the words come out of my mouth. Hokuto-senpai does the same. What on earth is wrong with me? What, am I competing for the world’s best self embarrassment award today? For a few moments we just stare at each other. My face mortified and Hokuto-senpai’s flushed with what I think is happiness. But, why would Hokuto-senpai be happy that I said he’s attractive? I should call an emergency Ra*bits meeting at lunch tomorrow.

“So, I, um, about that stroll?”

**6:30p.m.: park across from the cafe.**

We are ostensibly alone. It’s getting kind of dark out and the street lamps are turning on. There’s a small space between Hokuto-senpai and I. Hokuto-senpai hasn’t really said a lot after what I said in the cafe. I mean, I can understand why. I guess I’d react the same way if my kouhai said something like that to me. But… what was that happy face about? Hokuto-senpai couldn’t possibly have a crush on me, right? I mean, I’m average with a capital A. While Hokuto-senpai’s mom is a famous actress and his dad was an idol. Hokuto-senpai is extraordinary and I’m just… ordinary. The silence is getting awkward and I decide to busy myself with my phone.

peach-chan: walking in the park after my date and it feels so awkward

peach-chan: aahh what do i do?? (*´･Д･)

I finally got the urge to tweet out of my system. I should say something. Just anything really. Maybe I should ask about what we’re going to do during club activities? I can’t really run from the Masked Pervert there…

“So, Hokuto-senpai?”

“Mmm?”

“What, exactly, are we going to do about club activities? I can’t really escape from the Masked Pervert there...”

Hokuto-senpai makes a soft _hmm_ before replying. “Just stay close to me. I’ll protect you from his antics.”

 _I’ll protect you._ I swear I’m melting. I glance over at him. The light from the street lamps is hitting his face at just the right angle that it looks like his face is glowing. Almost like he’s an angel. This tumbles out of my mouth before I can think about whether or not I should say it. Hokuto-senpai stops and turns to face me. I am going to die right here on the spot. Why do I talk without thinking? I want to crawl into a hole somewhere.

“Tomoya.” I have to force myself to look at him. His eyes are so deep and dark it’s like I could fall right into them. If I did I doubt I’d leave. “I, um… I want, um...”

I tilt my head to the side and raise one of my eyebrows. Hokuto-senpai looks conflicted. It’s like he wants to say something but isn’t sure where to start. He swallows hard, closes his eyes, and grabs my hands.

“I want to do this again!” His hands are soft and slightly cold. My brain must’ve stopped working because I push his hands together and wrap them in mine to warm them up. Hokuto-senpai looks as though he’s broken a fuse his face is so red. He keeps his eyes shut and continues, “I, um, I know I’m kind of awkward, but I had a really good time with you! And… and… and I want to try finishing the crosswords I can’t do on my own with you!”

I smile. “I want to do this again, too.” Hokuto-senpai tentatively opens his eyes. I squeeze his hands and look him in the eye when I say, “I had a really good time, too.”

Hokuto-senpai lets out a great big sigh and lets me keep holding his hand. We stand there for a little bit like that: smiling at one another and holding hands.


	2. Argument, Sleep Over, Date!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Emergency Ra*bits meeting turns into a big argument, a plan for the elusive answer to the Hokuto-senpai Situation is made, Tomoya is sillier than he makes himself out to be and gets his second date.

**Next day.**

**Lunch period: rooftop.**

“So, why’d you call an Emergency Ra*bits Meeting, Tomo-chan?”

“We’re gathered here today about the Hokuto-senpai Situation. Discuss.”

Hajime, Mitsuru, and I are gathered for one of our many Emergency Ra*bits Meetings. Usually, the subject is where we’re going or what we’re eating for lunch period. Which, just like middle school, we always spend together. Our favorite place to spend lunch period is on the rooftop. There’s this one spot where you can see across the school grounds and down to the ocean. Thankfully, for once, it’s just the three of us up here.

Hajime chews on a small clump of rice for a few minutes. “Hokuto-senpai said that he wanted to go on more dates, right?”

“Yes.” I try to keep myself from launching into an elaborate description of the way he said it. “And we held hands.”

Mitsuru isn’t paying much attention and fidgeting, but Hajime gasps. When Hajime asks if it’s true I reply that yes and I honestly can barely believe it actually happened.

Mitsuru groans and asks, “When are you going to confess to Hokuto-senpai?”

“Soon.” ‘Soon’ is a long, long time from now.

“But you went on a _date_! And he said that he wants to go on more! He must like you.”

“Now, wait, wait, wait, just because we went on _one_ date doesn’t mean he likes me!”

Mitsuru groans again, this time louder, then stands up and dusts off his uniform. I think nothing of it until he says, “I’m going to tell him for you.”

“You wouldn’t dare.”

“Dash!~ Dash!~ Yes I would!”

Mitsuru starts to run and I immediately grab onto him and try to keep him from leaving.

“Mitsuru! You can’t!” Hajime clings onto Mitsuru’s waist to add to my weight keeping him down.

“Mitsuru-kun, Tomoya-kun has to do it himself!” Hajime adds to my protesting.

“Ugh! Hajime-chan, lemme go! He won’t do it by himself!”

We struggle and argue back and forth like this for several more minutes. Then the arguing turns into me screaming _no!_ and Hajime crying _poor Tomoya-kun_ and Mitsuru screaming back at me _yes! I’m doing it!_ We are causing a total and complete scene. I’m pulling on Mitsuru’s arm, Hajime is clinging onto Mitsuru’s waist while sitting down and sobbing, and Mitsuru is desperately trying to shake us off him. Several first years have stopped and stared before moving on. While they leave: the struggle continues and, as the Masked Pervert would say, the plot thickens.

“Lem-me go!”

“Mi-tsu-ru! No! You _can’t_!”

“To-mo-ya! Yes! I can!”

Hajime is still crying and wails, “Nii-chan help us!”

I change tactics and drop to the ground to have a super glue-like hold onto Mitsuru’s right leg. This was, ultimately, a bad idea because now I am being dragged on the ground with Hajime as Mitsuru makes slow, straining steps to the door leading off the rooftop. The argument between Mitsuru and I turns to the two of us just screaming incoherently at each other. Hajime is still sobbing and asking for Nii-chan.

“Tomochin? Hajimechin? Mitsuruchin?”

In unison the three of us shout, “Nii-chan, help me!”

I can only see Nii-chan’s feet as he walks towards us.

“What on earth is going on here?”

The reply is a mix of my and Mitsuru’s yelling at one another and Hajime’s crying. Yelling at one another turns back into screaming and Nii-chan has to make us speak one at a time while patting—the still crying—Hajime’s head.

For the second time in my entire life I hear Hajime shouting at someone.

“Mitsuru-kun we have to support Tomoya-kun not do it for him!”

“But! He _won’t_ do it himself!”

“Listen!”

“I’m gonna do it!”

“We have to support!”

“He won’t do it!”

Nii-chan clears his throat so loudly the three of us all look up at him and shout, “What!?”

He puts his hands on his hips and says, “Mitsuruchin, Tomochin, Hajimechin.”

Together we mumble, “Nii-chan?”

“Enough is enough! No more fighting!”

Together again. “Yes, Nii-chan.”

“Now, tell me, what, exactly, is taking place here? Chiaki-chin’s unit member Tetora-kun had to come and get me you were being so loud and weird.”

We start to talk all at once again and he crosses his arms across his chest. Hajime speaks first. “We were just having a meeting to talk about the Hokuto-senpai Situation and then Mitsuru-kun decided to tell for Tomoya-kun and Tomoya-kun said no and I said that he couldn’t and that Tomoya-kun has to do it for himself, but he wouldn’t listen and then I started crying and Tomoya-kun and Mitsuru-kun were arguing and in the end, we were all just screaming at one another.”

“That doesn’t explain why you’re all entangled the way you are. Tetora-kun asked me if we should get Sagami-sensei.”

“Well,” I start. “He was about to run away so we sort of, uh, flung ourselves onto him to keep him from running away?”

Nii-chan sighs. “Reasonable. Mitsuruchin, what do you have to say?”

“He’s not gonna do it, Nii-chan!”

“I am going to when I am ready!”

“Tomochin, Mitsuruchin, calm down. Now, why don’t we disentangle ourselves from Mitsuruchin?”

Hajime and I let go and then things start to happen very, very quickly. First, Mitsuru immediately starts running away. Second, Nii-chan tells Mitsuru to come back. Third, Morisawa-senpai comes out of nowhere and tackles Mitsuru to the ground, with a loud _hah!_

“Caught him! Sorry, but you’re not going anywhere!”

How is Morisawa-senpai so… so _fast_? Where did he come from anyways? I don’t understand. What on earth does the basketball team do during practice?

Morisawa-senpai laughs and says to Nii-chan, “Do your thing, Nito.”

“Thank you, Chiakichin. Now, Mitsuruchin.” Mitsuru grunts and struggles to get free in response. “You can’t tell Hokutochin for Tomochin.”

“But, Nii-chan, he’s not gonna tell!”

“Yes, he will, you just have to give him time.”

Mitsuru groans. “But, Nii-chaaaan, I don’t _want_ to wait! I want Tomo-chan to be happy _right now_!”

My breath catches. Mitsuru wasn’t being oblivious to what I want, he just wants me to be happy. Hajime and I run over to him at the same time, crying and saying, “Mitsuruuu!”

Sheesh, we’ve cried twice in the past ten minutes. Morisawa-senpai lets go of Mitsuru then Hajime and I give him a great big hug. Mitsuru bugs me sometimes, but, I think, I really like being so close. I mean, he did sneak into the school with me, and has always been there for me. His antics tend to annoy me, but… I’ve never had as much fun with anyone else than I do with Mitsuru. I’m pretty close to Hinata and Hajime, but it’s not the same closeness I have with Mitsuru. I mean, after all, we’ve been friends since we were little. He knows all my secrets and I can’t count all the times we’ve spent the night at one another’s houses.

I step back and fidget. “Mitsuru?”

“Tomo-chan?”

“I, um, I’m sorry for yelling at you. And, uhh, clinging to your leg.”

Mitsuru fidgets, too. “I’m sorry for trying to tell Hokuto-senpai for you. And dragging you across the ground. I’ll let you do it for yourself.”

Nii-chan tells us to behave and that he has places to be before leaving with Morisawa-senpai. Mitsuru, Hajime, and I go back to where we were sitting before and get back to eating lunch.

“Hey, Mitsuru…” I spill out what I was thinking when Hajime and I were hugging him.

Mitsuru takes a big bite of his melon pan then says, “I feel the same. Well, I’m not really close to Hinata-kun, but you know what I mean.”

I munch on and swallow a vegetable spring roll. “Hey, Mitsuru, do you remember in fifth grade when we went to the New Year’s festival?”

“Yeah! You ate so much grilled squid you threw up!”

I laugh. “Yeah, but you ate four bags of cotton candy and threw up at the same time as me! Oh! Remember how after we threw up we went and played by the river?”

Mitsuru gives me a big grin. “Of course! Our shoes and clothes were all muddy ‘cause we were throwing dirt at each other, and when we met back up with your sister and our moms they were _so_ mad!”

I grin back. “We were caked in mud from head to toe! My hair was so dirty it wasn’t even blonde anymore, it was as brown as yours!” I giggle. “That was so much fun, even if we did get yelled at in the end.”

“Tomo-chan, do you remember back when we were eight and we got to go to the Tanabata festival by ourselves the first time?”

“Yes!” I eat some rice before continuing. “We were running through all the stalls and went swimming in the river! We had to take off our yukata and let them dry before finding our families so our moms wouldn’t get mad.”

“Don’t forget, Tomo-chan, that it was _your_ idea to go swimming!”

I point my chopsticks at him, “Yeah, but it was _your_ idea to spend all the money we had on food and didn’t have anything left to give to the shrine maidens so we could put our wishes on the Wish Tree!”

Hajime gives a soft chuckle. “It seems like you two have had a lot of fun together.”

Mitsuru and I look at each and smile, and I say, “Yeah, we really have,” then we say in unison, “I’m really glad mom took us to that preschool and we got to meet one another.”

**4:30p.m.: walking home from school.**

“So,” Mitsuru starts. “What should we do about your crush on Hokuto-senpai?”

I rub the back of my neck. “I’m not sure,” I say honestly. “Maybe we should learn more about him first? There wasn’t any club activities today, so I didn’t really get to talk to him much.”

Mitsuru skips a few steps ahead of me, spins around, then walks backwards. “What if we talk to someone who knows him really well?”

“That would be good, but who do we know who’s close to him?” I frown. “I’d really rather not ask the Masked Pervert about him. He’d know right away that I have a crush on Hokuto-senpai and I wouldn’t put it past him to tell.”

“Well,” He lets out a small _hmm_. “What about some of the Trickstar unit members?”

I spin around on the ball of my foot. “I don’t know any of them besides Hokuto-senpai, though.”

“What about some of our classmates? Midori-chan is on the basketball team with Subaru-chan-senpai, and I think Tetora-chin knows Subaru-chan-senpai, too.”

“I guess that could work, but wouldn’t it be easier to just speak to Akehoshi-senpai ourselves? Or, maybe, Anzu-senpai? Anzu-senpai is with Hokuto-senpai’s unit a lot.”

Mitsuru skips back over and falls into step with me. “Wanna have a sleep over and work it out? We can munch on snacks and watch silly romance anime.”

“That would be pretty fun, we haven’t had a sleep over in a while. What anime should we watch though? Maybe _Nisekoi_ or _One Week Friends_? Oh! We could watch that anime _ReLife_!”

The two of us skip over cracks in the sidewalk together. “Why don’t we watch all of them, Tomo-chan? We didn’t get too much homework from Kunugi-sensei today.”

I smile. “Yeah! We haven’t done a marathon in, like, months! Plus, my mom bought a big box of microwave popcorn we can eat.”

“O-kaay!~ Let’s drop by a convenience store and get some green tea and melon pan!”

“Yeah! This is gonna be great!”

**9:23p.m.: my bedroom.**

It only took us about thirty minutes to get all our homework done. After that we set up a big blanket fort, turned off all the lights, crawled into our fort with all our snacks and started our marathon. Right now, we’re halfway through the seventh episode of _ReLife_. I shove a big handful of microwave popcorn in my mouth and say with my mouth full, “I didn’t think that Suou would have a good taste in anime, or, well, watch anime at all.”

In the dim light from my laptop I can see Mitsuru take a bite of melon pan. “Yeah, mmff, he really doesn’t look like that kind of person.”

“Wait,” I take another munch of popcorn. “Doesn’t Suou _really_ not like Akehoshi-senpai? Or is it the other way around?”

After another bite of his melon pan, Mitsuru replies, “I think it’s the first one. I’m pretty sure I heard Subaru-chan-senpai talking to Midori-chan last week when I was helping at basketball practice, and he was complaining that Tsukasa-chan didn’t like him.”

I take a big gulp of the tea we got. “Suou likes us though, right?”

“I think so. I mean, he did come up to us and give us anime recommendations even though we didn’t ask him to.”

“True.” I grab some Pocky sticks and eat them one bite at a time. “I don’t think any anime is gonna help us with the Hokuto-senpai Situation.”

Mitsuru finishes his melon pan. “Nope! It’s fun to not think about anything important and just mindlessly eat and talk about nothing in particular together, though.”

“It really is.” I eat some more Pocky and have an idea. “I just remembered! Hajime is close with Akehoshi-senpai!”

“Oh, yeah, that’s right. I forgot about that. See, if we didn’t stop thinking about it, we wouldn’t have remembered.”

I break a Pocky stick in two and shove it into my mouth. Hajime knowing Akehoshi-senpai is going to be a big help in learning more about Hokuto-senpai. Mitsuru and I agree to bug Hajime about it before homeroom tomorrow. We chatter about anime we need to watch and catch up on while we watch three more episodes of _ReLife_.

Mitsuru falls asleep during the middle of the fourth, and a few minutes afterwards I can’t keep my eyes open and fall asleep, too.

**Next day.**

**7:04a.m.: kitchen.**

Mom frowns when Mitsuru and I come into the kitchen rubbing our eyes and yawning. My little sister is already at the table eating breakfast.

“Good morning, Tomo-nii-chan! Mitsu-nii-chan, too!”

We both mumble our individual good mornings back to her. I flop down in my chair and ask Mom what’s for breakfast through a big yawn.

“Folded scrambled eggs, toast with butter and blueberry jam, mandarin oranges, and strawberry yogurt with green tea to drink.”

Mitsuru and I groan. “Please, Mom, no more green tea. We drank three bottles last night.”

“Three of them? Were you up all night watching anime again? You’re still wearing your school uniform shirts.”

I look down at the table. “Yes, we were.”

Mom sighs and clicks her tongue. Mom sets down breakfast for Mitsuru and I, and, even though we spent all night snacking, we scarf it down. We thank her and before we can run back up to my room, she grabs onto the backs of our shirt collars.

“Wait just a minute, boys. If you’re going to go to school in the clothes you slept in, you better wash your faces real well and at the least put on clean socks. Mitsuru can wear some of yours, Tomoya.”

“‘Kaaay, Mom.” She lets us go and we sprint upstairs and immediately begin to bicker about who gets to wear the last pair of clean striped socks I have. In the end, I settle on the orange polka dot socks. After pulling all the wrinkles out of our shirts and putting on the rest of our uniforms we race each other down the stairs.

The two of us find Mom putting bento into our backpacks. She tells us to eat all of it this time and we say in unison “yeah, yeah, we will” while we put our shoes on. After that, it’s throw on our backpacks and race each other to school. We laugh while we run past other kids going to school and avoid lamp posts, trash cans, jump over concrete barriers, skip over sidewalk cracks, and just generally be the way we get when we’re together.

Mitsuru jumps into a puddle and I follow suit with the one across from him. We’ve gotten ourselves wet, but it doesn’t matter. We have to take off our shoes anyways. The race both ends and continues when we get to the gates of Yumenosaki. We forget about the lip in the bricks and trip over it, falling into a somersault down the pathway to the school entrance.

We finally stop in front of the school fountain on our backs. We look at each other and start to cackle. My stomach hurts but I just can’t stop.

“That… that was…” I talk in between giggles. “It was… so _funny…_ The look on your face!”

We sit up and keep giggling. Mitsuru’s hair is sticking up in weird places and has twigs and leaves in it. I bet mine looks the same way. I can hear someone running up to us and the two of us look away from each other to see Nii-chan and Hokuto-senpai.

“Tomoya!”

“Tomochin! Misturuchin!”

We glance at each other and giggle.

“Tomoya, are you okay!?”

A giggle slips out. “I’m fine! We just tripped. You see, we were racing each other to school!”

Mitsuru giggles and says, “It’s okay, Nii-chan! We fell asleep in our uniforms during a sleep over so it’s okay if they’re dirty.”

I look from Hokuto-senpai to Nii-chan. “Yeah! My mom told us to wash our faces, but we didn’t, so, really, it’s fine that we’re all dirty!”

Mitsuru and I look at one another, then back up to Hokuto-senpai and Nii-chan with grins on our faces. They fuss over us, Nii-chan pulling the twigs and leaves out of Mitsuru’s hair and Hokuto-senpai does the same for me.

“You’re a lot sillier than you like to make yourself out to be.” Hokuto-senpai rubs some of the dirt off my face with his handkerchief. After how badly I embarrassed myself on our date, having dirt rubbed off my face by Hokuto-senpai isn’t all that nerve wracking.

I readjust the straps of my backpack. “Well, Mitsuru’s always infected me with his silliness. Ever since we were little kids.”

He chuckles. “Are you sure you’re not just silly yourself?”

“Well, being silly _is_ pretty fun. So, you’re probably right.” I stand up and dust off the knees and back of my pants, then my sweater and blazer. I look him in the eye and ask, “Did you see all of what happened?”

Hokuto-senpai looks up away from me. “Yes, it was… quite the spectacle.”

Nii-chan is still fussing over Mitsuru when Hokuto-senpai and I go to the lockers. I make my best attempt at small talk. Which includes questions about his unit’s activities and if I missed a club meeting yesterday. Small talk is _hard_. Ugh. If Hokuto-senpai likes me back and we start dating am I going to have to make small talk all the time? That sounds lame. And boring. I don’t like small talk. I wonder if Hokuto-senpai doesn’t care for small talk either. Once again, I say that out loud.

“I don’t particularly care for small talk, no.”

I sigh and mumble. “I keep saying my thoughts out loud.”

Hokuto-senpai _hmm_ s. “I don’t think that’s necessarily a bad thing. Accidentally saying what you’re thinking out loud might make it so that the people you care about know you care about them, or let you state your opinions in a way you couldn’t if you didn’t have that habit.”

“Huh.” I play with that stupid clump of hair that won’t stay flat against my head. “I guess that’s true… I mean, I never thought about it that way.”

“See?” Hokuto-senpai looks up at me as he puts his school shoes on and smiles.

I tug at that stupid cowlick until I can feel it _finally_ stay flat with the rest of my bangs. Or, at least, it stays flat until Hokuto-senpai leans over and pulls it back up then gently slides his fingertips down along the side of my face.

I fidget and mumble, “Why did you pull it back up?”

“I like it. It’s cute how you play with it while it sticks up.” Our faces are so close that our noses are almost touching. Hokuto-senpai blinks then steps back and coughs as though he just realized what he did. He looks at the floor and I look at the ceiling. My face burns and it has to be the same color as my tie. I sneak a quick peek at his face. Hokuto-senpai looks as though his face is a ripe tomato. He coughs again. I fidget.

“So, uhh…” I’m embarrassed, but also so elated I don’t know what I should say. “Uhm, see you before, uh, unit activities?”

Hokuto-senpai plays with his tie. “Ah, m-m-maybe lunch? I, uh, I mean, you know, if that’s… if that’s okay by you and you’re, uhm, n-not doing a-a-anything.”

Gah, his stuttering is so adorable. A sharp pull on my arm startles the hell out of me; I look over and Mitsuru is tugging on me. “Tomo-chan, we’re gonna be late!”

I let him pull me away—despite how much I want to stay—and call out to Hokuto-senpai, “I’ll see you at lunch! In the club room! Don’t be late!”

He nods and I can’t help but stare back at him as Mitsuru tugs me down the hallway. I grin all the way to homeroom. I have a second date!

**9:30a.m.: classroom 1-A.**

“Ha-ji-me-chaaan?~” Mitsuru and I are leaning over Hajime’s desk in between classes. He looks extremely nervous to have the two of us crowded around his desk.

“Y-yes? Tomoya-kun, Mitsuru-kun?”

I speak first. “Could you do us a favor?~” My voice is in a sweet sing-song tone.

“Uh… What kind of favor?”

Mitsuru goes next with the same tone of voice. “We need to see Subaru-chan-senpai!~”

Hajime’s face turns the color of a strawberry. “U-uh, why?”

Mitsuru and I alternate in explanation of our plan to learn more about Hokuto-senpai. We explain that we need to meet Akehoshi-senpai and casually ask questions about Hokuto-senpai because there’s no one more well-suited to tell us about him than Akehoshi-senpai. We also explain we’re asking Hajime because we don’t know anyone else in our year who both knows Akehoshi-senpai _and_ is on good terms with him.

“We had a sleep over and we were discussing this, right? And we decided that you were the right person to ask, because even though Suou knows us and we’re pretty sure likes us, he _doesn’t_ like Akehoshi-senpai.”

“Plus,” Mitsuru adds to my reasoning. “Midori-chan is just exhausted by everything all the time, so, he’s probably a bad person to ask even though he’s on the basketball team with Subaru-chan-senpai. That, and we can never be sure when Chiaki-chan-senpai will come out of nowhere and surprise us. We don’t really want everyone knowing.”

“W-well,” Hajime begins. “I guess I wouldn’t mind seeing Akehoshi-senpai again.”

Mitsuru and I each grab a hand saying in unison, “Great! It’s settled then! After club and unit activities! Have him bring Anzu-senpai, too!”

“What? Why should I have him bring Anzu-san?”

“Because,” I reply. “Anzu-senpai is an important piece of our plan! Can you get to him at lunchtime?”

“Will you guys come with me?”

“Can’t.” I point to myself, “I have a date during lunch with Hokuto-senpai!”

“Oooh!”

“Tomo-chan, why didn’t you tell me this morning on our way to class?”

I rub the back of my neck. “I was, uh, kind of too excited to say anything. And I was daydreaming all through first period, so, I forgot to tell you, Hajime.”

“That’s okay, Tomoya-kun.” Hajime smiles at me. “Just make sure to tell us everything during unit activities!”

“I will! I promise!” The bell rings, Mitsuru ‘dash dash’-es to his class, and I start daydreaming again.

 **Lunch** **period: theater club room.**

I poke my head into the doorway before I come in. I _really_ don’t want the Masked Pervert here both when I come in and when Hokuto-senpai gets here. He’ll make me get all dressed up in some sort of weird costume and this date won’t be anything like the first. Thankfully, the club room is empty.

I let out a big sigh of relief. I toss myself on the couch and thank whatever gods are listening for a lunch period date of peace. I pull apart my bento, curious as to what, exactly, Mom put in there for today. I find the bottom tray full of fried rice; the top with some pieces of sushi, a mandarin orange, and more vegetable spring rolls. I wonder if Mom made the same exact thing for Mitsuru.

I sigh when I realize that Mom probably made more than needed and I’m going to have fried rice for dinner, too. I set my bento down and stand up when I hear the door open. I turn on my heel and Hokuto-senpai is peering in just like I did, but instead of a bento he’s carrying a bag from the school store. He walks in and immediately fidgets.

He holds up the bag and says, “I, uh, I noticed your mom makes you bento everyday, but, uhm, I didn’t know if she gives you anything to drink, so, uh, I got… I got some strawberry milk.”

“Oh! Thank you!” I can’t help but smile.

“And, uhm, I was standing by, I mean, _walking_ by your class and I overheard you telling, uhm, your friend Shino th-that you had a lot of, uh, green tea during a sl-sleepover last night, so, ah, I thought that… that strawberry milk would, uh, be better to bring th-than that.”

I tilt my head to the side. “Why were you by my class?”

Hokuto-senpai freezes. “I, uh, I-I-I-I was just, you know, just walking by there for, uh, no particular reason. J-just walking around between cl-classes.”

I have a feeling that isn’t actually the case. I wave Hokuto-senpai over towards the couch and sit down. “You can get closer, you know. I promise, I don’t bite.”

Hokuto-senpai laughs, in a clearly nervous way, and sits next to me. I pick up all my bento pieces and set it in the space in between us. Hokuto-senpai pulls out two strawberry milks, some very old fashioned candy, and an egg salad sandwich from his bag. Looking at the sandwich, I can’t help but think that it can’t possibly be a very good lunch with everything that has to be done at an idol-raising school.

I look up at him. “Do you want some of my bento?”

“W-why do you ask?” He’s so obviously flustered.

“Well,” My voice comes out soft. “With idol activities and related classes just that sandwich won’t really last very long, I mean, within a few hours you’ll be hungry again.”

Hokuto-senpai pulls down the knot of his tie and gulps. After the horrors of our first date you’d think that he wouldn’t be so nervous. If anything, he’s even _more_ nervous than he was then. He takes in a deep breath and lets it out.

“I would, uh, I would like that. I, uhm, I mean, to have some of what’s in your bento.”

“Okay!” I look down at it and then realize. “Oh, uh… I only have one set of chopsticks. Do you mind sharing?”

Hokuto-senpai, like our last date, looks like he’s broken a fuse or maybe two with how brilliantly red his face has become. I’m pretty sure that he’s holding his breath when he nods. I pick up the bottom layer and grab a little clump of rice with my chopsticks.

I hold it out to him and say, “Here, it’s really good, trust me.”

He nods again and his movements look deliberately slow when he grabs my hand with his and brings the little clump up to his mouth. I’m staring, but really, this is the stuff of romance anime happening in real-life, so, who _wouldn’t_ stare. He chews slowly, still holding my hand, and swallows hard.

His voice is barely above a whisper. “It really is good.”

“See? My mom is an excellent cook. You should come over and have dinner at my house sometime.” Hokuto-senpai lets go of the hand holding my chopsticks, only to set his hand on top of the other that’s resting on the seat of the couch.

I eat a small clump of the rice, then give some more to Hokuto-senpai. We go back and forth like that until all that’s left in my bento is the orange and spring rolls. I glance up while I’m attempting to cut the rolls in half with my chopsticks to see him staring at me with that same look characters in romance anime have when they’re about to kiss someone. All soft and sweet and, on Hokuto-senpai, dreamy. I immediately look back down and gulp.

My brain goes into overdrive. _That’s so dreamy. Is he going to kiss me? I really hope he kisses me. But, it’s only the second date! Why would he kiss me? Does he even like me enough to kiss me? I really, really, really would like it if he kissed me._ My hand is shaking too much for me to cut the rolls. Please, tell me I’m not hyperventilating. Or about to say what I’m thinking out loud. If I ask ‘does he even like me’ out loud it’ll ruin the entire plan! Besides, what if he says no?

Hokuto-senpai places two fingers under my chin and forces me to look at him. Oh, gosh, he’s so handsome. I think I need help.

“Tomoya? You’re shaking, are you alright? You didn’t hurt yourself this morning, did you?”

“I, uh, I’m fine. Really.” My voice is two octaves higher than normal. He’s leaned closer to me and this time our noses actually _are_ touching. I can see every detail in his eyes and they’re so pretty… Really, just everything about him is pretty. I’m not even pretending that I’m not staring at him, and, I think, he’s doing the exact same thing. This is seriously high-key romantic. I lean into his touch and set my free hand on top of his without thinking about it

Neither of us say anything. We just sit there, looking at one another, faces so close it would be really easy to kiss him, and to top off the high-key romantic air he interlaces his fingers with mine then pushes our palms together until we’re holding hands. Hokuto-senpai gives my hand a gentle squeeze and pulls his face just far away enough from mine that I can see him smiling. His smile is infectious and I lean forward until our foreheads are touching. Both of our bangs are going to look a little funny after this, but I don’t think Hokuto-senpai cares anymore than I do. Being honest, I don’t care at all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this took me eight million years and im sorry but i hope it was worth the wait


	3. Confession, the Plan, Tomochin

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tomoya's day keeps getting better and better, Subaru and Anzu lend a helping hand, and 'tomochin' from twitter is....!?

**1:45p.m.:** **first floor hallway** **.**

We are late. Unlucky for me, fifth period today is taught by Kunugi-sensei and he does not like lateness of any kind. He’ll go on and on about professionalism and how unbecoming of an idol it is to be late for anything.

“Tomoya, I’ll deal with Kunugi-sensei, okay? He can be… sarcastic to say the least.” Hokuto-senpai has a firm grip on my hand and from the look on his face he’s extremely worried about me. For how late we are, he isn’t walking very fast.

“Hokuto-senpai, you would _lie_ to Kunugi-sensei for me?”

He stops and looks me in the eye. “Of course.”

“But, why?” I don’t understand. Hokuto-senpai smiles.

“Because I li— _ahem_ , because you shouldn’t be yelled at from my mistake.”

I squeeze his hand. “I didn’t pull away when the warning or final bell rang either.”

Hokuto-senpai blushes again, but this time he doesn’t look away. I wonder what he was about to say before he cleared his throat. Before I can ask, we hear voices and footsteps. I listen closely and murmur, “Hasumi-senpai and Tenshouin-senpai!”

“Come with me!”

Hokuto-senpai squeezes my hand and pulls me into the closest practice room, hiding behind the door and hugging me close to his chest. I can hear Hokuto-senpai’s heartbeat. We stand there in the dark and listen carefully to their voices and footsteps. Hokuto-senpai has one arm wrapped around my waist and his other around my shoulders. His left hand is clinging to my side, while his right is against the back of my head.

There’s no space in between us and I’d be lying if I said that I’m not greatly enjoying every moment of this. Even after it’s certain that both Hasumi and Tenshouin-senpai are long gone Hokuto-senpai doesn’t lessen his hold on me. With my sweater on I get uncomfortably warm and finally pull away.

I look at Hokuto-senpai and he looks back at me. After a few moments, we start laughing. Today has really been something else. I raced Mitsuru to school, had Hokuto-senpai take care of me, got to go on my second date, shared my bento _and_ chopsticks with him, and now I’m here.

Hokuto-senpai chuckles. “There really is never a dull moment when I’m with you, Tomoya. Whether it’s Hibiki-buchou and his costumes, plays, our dates, or just spending my free time with you.”

I grin. “Well, getting to see you smile _is_ worth all those stupid costumes.”

Hokuto-senpai cups the side of my face with his palm, gently rubbing my cheek with his thumb, and says quietly, “I really love spending time with you.”

I swallow hard and feel my face burn. I’m a little embarrassed, but also absolutely delighted. I take his free hand in both of mine and whisper, “I, uhm, I love spending time with you, too.”

He gives my hands a squeeze and murmurs, “Come on, let’s get you to class before Kunugi-sensei decides to give us both extra cleaning duty.”

“Well, if I’m with you it couldn’t be all that bad.”

Hokuto-senpai gives me a great big smile and agrees. It feels like I’m floating. We more merrily stroll along than hurry back to class. We’re still holding hands and at this point it just feels natural. It’s like walking next to each other with our shoulders touching, fingers intertwined, looking over at one another and smiling is how things should be between us. We stop at the doorway to my classroom and Hokuto-senpai turns so he’s standing in front of me.

“Tomoya, I have something I’ve been meaning to tell you.”

I tilt my head to the side, and get another hug from Hokuto-senpai. I swear, I’m the luckiest person in this entire school. This time, however, I hug him back. I didn’t realize he was so much bigger than me.

“Tomoya…” Hokuto-senpai’s dropped his voice to a whisper up against my ear. “You’re so much more extraordinary than you think you are.”

My voice is soft when I reply. “I think you’re amazing, Hokuto-senpai. Not because of your talents, but because you’re you.”

Hokuto-senpai kisses my cheek and I swear I almost melt into a puddle. I think my brain stopped working because I lean up and do the same. Hokuto-senpai steps back and has a big grin on his face. Well, that is, until we turn and see the entirety of my class staring at us. Hajime is smiling at me, Midori has his eyebrows raised, and everyone else is making a ruckus.

Tetora is yelling, “Ohhhhh! Nice one! Check it out, guys! Tomoya-kun got kissed!”

Hinata whistles and shouts, “Let’s tell 1-B! Let’s tell 1-B! Everybody has to know!”

Hokuto-senpai and I make a painful walk into my classroom. Kunugi-sensei finally gets everyone quiet and turns to us.

“Pardon the intrusion…” If I weren’t so embarrassed, I’d absolutely fawn over how cute he is when flustered.

“Mashiro-kun, where have you been? Class started fifteen minutes ago.”

I fidget. I don’t know exactly what I’m supposed to say. Furthermore, I didn’t realize how much time had passed. I was so focused on how nice it feels to be with Hokuto-senpai.

Hokuto-senpai grabs my hand and replies for me. “Kunugi-sensei, I apologize. It’s my fault Tomo—uh, I mean, Mashiro-kun is late. I had him in the theater club room practicing reading scripts for different plays our club is considering performing with me.”

Kunugi-sensei sighs. “I expected better from you, Hidaka-kun. Hidaka-senpai, I mean, your father would never have done something like this.”

Hokuto-senpai squeezes my hand so hard it kind of hurts a little bit. His parents are a sore subject for him. I know he wouldn’t ever want to be compared to his dad. I have to say something.

“Uhm, Kunugi-sensei!” I squeeze his hand back. “It’s not just his fault! I’m training to be an idol, too. I should have been paying attention to the time as well. I need to be just as responsible for my actions as Hokuto-senpai!”

I didn’t think I would ever yell at a teacher, but… what Kunugi-sensei said wasn’t fair. I know very well how much Hokuto-senpai doesn’t like his parents and being compared to his dad has to hurt.

Kunugi-sensei sighs and tells Hokuto-senpai to go to his classroom. He lets go of my hand slowly and before he walks out the door Hokuto-senpai looks me in the eyes and whispers, “Tomoya, thank you.”

I nod and give him a small smile. After another earful from Kunugi-sensei, I finally get to sit in my seat behind Midori and in front of Hajime. I slump down in my chair and really wish I had Hokuto-senpai’s email so I could find out how he’s feeling… I’ll ask him during the club meeting today.

**3:03p.m.: sixth period.**

I got an insane amount of questions after fifth period during break. All of class 1-B came running into 1-A to hear the full story of what happened. It was actually kind of nice. Everyone was excited and happy for me. Mitsuru let it slip that I’m majorly crushing on Hokuto-senpai and everybody was so delighted that I got a kiss on the cheek from him that I’m not even mad. Even Midori got excited and I don’t want to know how many times a day he mutters to himself, _I wanna die_.

The nice part of sitting behind Midori is that I can play around on my phone during class because he’s so tall. This is a good thing—though Midori hates being so tall—‘cause now I can hop on twitter and tell tomochin everything that’s happened today. I don’t want the whole world knowing, so, I decide to direct message him instead.

peach-chan: tomochin!! i have HUGE news!!

tomochin: What kind of news?

peach-chan: i had a second date at lunch today! and got a kiss too!

tomochin: really? With and from who?

peach-chan: my crush! the one i’ve been telling you all about

tomochin: that sounds great, peach-chan. How did your date go?

peach-chan: really great! we shared my bento and he even got me something to drink

tomochin: oh wow, when was your date?

peach-chan: at lunch today! he held my hand and i think he even wanted to kiss me!

peach-chan: it was like a romance anime in real life!

tomochin: it sounds like you had a really good time

peach-chan: i did! but that’s not the best part!

tomochin: what’s the best part, peach-chan?

peach-chan: he walked me to class and we hid in a practice room from some of our senpai and he held me REALLY close and it was so nice

peach-chan: i didn’t realize he was so much bigger than me until then

tomochin: you have a lot of fun with your crush, huh?

peach-chan: i really do. he makes going to club worth it cause i get to see him smile…

peach-chan: oh! and he said that he always has a good time when he’s with me!

tomochin: what about the kiss?

peach-chan: this is where it gets even better!

tomochin: :?

peach-chan: when we got to my classroom he hugged me and said “you’re so much more extraordinary than you think you are” and after i said, “i think you’re amazing. not because of your talents, but because you’re you” he kissed my cheek and i almost melted

Tomochin doesn’t say anything for a few minutes. Did I tell him too much? He always replies back right away when I DM him…

tomochin: uhm… peach-chan?

peach-chan: tomochin?

tomochin: uhh, I have something I should tell you

peach-chan: what is it?

tomochin: well, uhm, I go to yumenosaki too

peach-chan: really!? oh gosh i was hoping so!

tomochin: uhh, can you meet me on the roof afterschool today?

peach-chan: sure!! i have some stuff to do after club though

peach-chan: is 5:30 okay?

tomochin: that’s fine, I’ll see you then, peach-chan

I grin to myself. Today just keeps getting better and better! My date, hugging Hokuto-senpai, getting a kiss from him, and now I get to meet tomochin in person! Today is a lucky day! I’m so happy. Things are going really well right now. I hope it stays that way.

**4:16p.m.: inside classroom 2-A.**

Hajime, Mitsuru, and I walk into class 2-A in a bit of an awkward way. We mumble _pardon the intrusion_ and all peek into the room to see if Akehoshi-senpai and Anzu-senpai are there. We can’t really see from where we are, so, we step in fully and then we’re greeted with a loud, “Shinonon!”

A few seconds afterwards, Hajime is engulfed in a hug by Akehoshi-senpai that almost knocks him over. Anzu-senpai follows Akehoshi-senpai and says hello to all of us.

“So, I was told by Subaru-kun that you need our help with something?”

“Yes,” I take a deep breath and let it out slowly. “We need to know some things about Hokuto-senpai.”

Anzu-senpai frowns. “Why?”

Before I can say anything, Mitsuru replies, “Tomo-chan _likes_ him!~”

A little ways away from us I can hear Hajime laughing and Akehoshi-senpai asking him to sing. I glance over to the two and from the look on Hajime’s face it’s very, very blatantly obvious that he likes Akehoshi-senpai.

I look back and Anzu-senpai has her eyebrows raised at us. I fidget. I didn’t want to say it so outright like that.

I sigh. “It’s true. I do like him. Kind of, sort of, a lot. I like him a lot.”

Mitsuru adds for me, “Tomo-chan has been on _two_ dates with him! One of them was today!”

Anzu-senpai runs a hand through her hair. “Well, that explains why Hokuto-kun ran out of the classroom as fast as he could without saying anything after the lunch bell rang, and then was late to class.”

I look down and smile to myself. “It was nice… He held my hand and…” I shake my head. I’m not here to tell the whole school what happened! I can’t forget about the plan!

“If you want to know things about Hokuto-kun the best person to ask is Subaru-kun. He knows Hokuto-kun better than I do. Probably better than anyone else in the whole school.”

I nod. Anzu-senpai drags Akehoshi-senpai over to where she, Mitsuru, and I are standing then tells him to pay attention. He looks over at us and says, “Yes? What do you need me to pay attention to?”

I fidget, _again_ , and say, “Well, we want to know more about Hokuto-senpai.”

Akehoshi-senpai has Hajime in a tight hug and replies, “About Hokke? Well, Hokke likes konpeitou and simple sweets, he likes his grandparents, he likes protection charms, and he likes crossword puzzles. He doesn’t like his parents, he doesn’t like it when his pace for doing things is messed up, he doesn’t like Ukki and I messing around, and I don’t think he really likes that really flashy guy.”

During the pause I say, “I’m assuming by ‘really flashy guy’ you mean the Masked Pervert. Or, uhh, the theater club president.”

“Yes.” Akehoshi-senpai continues. “Let’s see… He goes by your class during breaks a lot, for the past couple days he won’t shut up about you, he’s kind of an airhead, and he can come off as cold at first, but he’s actually really quite kind and explains things really thoroughly and values all his friends. Oh, and he gets defensive when roles are taken away from him.”

Mitsuru, Hajime, and I say in unison, “Really?”

“Yeah! Ukki and I were joking once that if Sarii were in our class he’d make a great class president and Hokke refused to speak to us for two days.”

I frown. “Two days? Seriously?”

Akehoshi-senpai nods and Anzu-senpai says, “It’s true, he really did refuse to speak to them for that long. Anyways, it’s getting late, is there anything else you want from us?”

“Yes. We need help with something.” I’m nervous about this.

Anzu-senpai looks at me suspiciously. “What is the something?”

“I need you to do me a favor.”

She replies immediately. “I’m a lesbian.”

“Oh, really?” I raise my eyebrows. I didn’t know that.

“It’s true,” Akehoshi-senpai adds, “I saw her kissing a girl from her old school yesterday.”

“Neat. So, anyways,” I repeat myself. “I need you to do me the biggest favor in the world. You can have me repay you any way you want.”

She crosses her arms. “What is the favor?”

I take a deep breath. “I need you to give a letter to Hokuto-senpai from me, and, uhm, also, lend me one of your skirts.”

There’s a moment of silence. Then Anzu-senpai says, “Tomoya-kun, what the actual fuck?”

I stumble over my words. “I-I-I can explain! It just for a little bit! Like an hour!”

“What are you trying to do with Hokuto-kun?”

I wince. “Maybe… sort of… trick him?”

Hajime interrupts, “ _This_ is the plan you and Mitsuru came up with? You’re going to wear a skirt and try to trick him?”

Mitsuru and I both fidget this time and say together, “Yes?”

“I refuse.” Anzu-senpai is glaring at us. “I don’t want to be involved in tricking Hokuto-kun. I don’t want you tricking him, either. Not when he’s been so bubbly and happy from spending so much time with you lately.”

I sigh. “Okay. Will you at least give the letter to him?”

“That,” she replies. “I will do. One more thing. Tomoya-kun?”

I look her in the eyes. “Yes, Anzu-senpai?”

“If you hurt Hokuto-kun or break his heart somehow I will _never_ help Rab*its ever again.”

My face blanches. Oh jeez. I quickly swear on my life that I’m not going to do either of those things, then I hand over the letter to her. I worked on it all through the rest of fifth period so I could say everything I wanted right. After that, Mitsuru and I thank both Akehoshi-senpai and Anzu-senpai for their help.

While we walk down the hall we can hear Akehoshi-senpai saying, “Shinonon! Sing with me!”

After we get down to the first floor I let out the breath I was holding. I look over to Mitsuru and say, “I never thought Anzu-senpai would be so protective of Hokuto-senpai.”

Mitsuru says, “Me neither, when she started glaring at us I wanted to run away.”

“That was really close. I think I need to sit down for a moment.”

“Me, too.”

The two of us put our backs against the wall and slowly slide down until we’re sitting on the floor. I breathe deeply for a few minutes to calm myself.

“Y’know,” I say softly, “Today has really been something.”

There’s some crunching from beside me then, “It really has been, Tomo-chan. Want some Pocky? It’s strawberry.”

“Sure.” Mitsuru hands me four sticks and I eat them individually one bite at a time. “The next thing to do today is go meet my twitter friend in person.”

“Ah,” More crunching. “That’s right. Mmff, what’re you going to say?”

“I’m not sure. So much has happened today I can’t think straight.”

“It’s…” Mitsuru looks up at the clock on the opposite wall. “Four forty-five right now. Wanna go sit by the fountain and eat snacks? It might help to not think for a bit.”

“Yeah, I could use a break from thinking about things. Thanks, Mitsuru.”

“Any time, Tomo-chan.”

**5:32p.m.: rooftop stairs.**

I’m a tiny bit late. I fell asleep listening to Mitsuru’s chattering and it doesn’t really surprise me that I did, I mean, today has been wild. The only disappointing thing is that I didn’t get to talk to Hokuto-senpai very much during club. He looked distracted and kept pulling out his phone and staring at it. I wonder what’s got him so distracted…

I shake my head to clear my thoughts. I need to focus. From the doorway it looks like I’m alone up here. I walk around the rooftop, but don’t see anyone so far. It shouldn’t be hard to find this mysterious classmate that’s tomochin. I mean, the school is fairly empty at this time of the day. Tomochin wouldn’t be late, would he? Being honest, I’m more than a little nervous. At the same time, I’m also incredibly excited. I hop up on one of the concrete enclosures to a flower bed, skip across it, and then jump back down. I do this three more times, and I’m really quite enjoying myself.

I like being silly. I go over to one of the benches after the fourth flower bed and stand on top of it. I look around the rooftop and see a figure over towards the far end. They’re leaning on the railing and I think looking out at the sea. I step down off the bench as carefully as I can—I don’t want to make a fool of myself—then begin a quick walk over. I can’t help but hum to myself and spin around on the ball of my left foot every few feet.

Overall, I’ve had a really good day and I’m still happy. My nap was nice and rejuvenating and listening to Mitsuru rambling about nothing in particular was soothing. I force myself to stop humming and skipping when I’m somewhere around fifteen feet away from them. The sun is in my eyes so I can’t really make out exactly who it is, but I’ll know soon enough. I give three big hops as though I’m playing hopscotch then lean against the railing next to them.

I take a big deep breath, let it out, then look at them. I immediately frown. “Hokuto-senpai? What’re you doing here?”

He sighs. “Waiting for you.”

“Waiting for me? Then, that means…” I trail off and want to yell, _I called it!_

“Yes, I’m ‘tomochin’ on twitter. I didn’t really want anyone to know, but when you were talking about everything that had happened today, I didn’t think I could really live with myself if I didn’t tell you.”

“How did you know that I’m ‘peach-chan’, though?”

“You were talking about our first date in detail on twitter with your friends.”

My face burns. “Oh… Wait, if you’re ‘tomochin’ that means that the tweet about being on a date with your crush was about the one we were on.”

“It was, indeed. It also means that _you’re_ the mysterious and infamous crush.”

I splutter. “What? There’s no way. I mean, I’m, well, _me_.”

Hokuto-senpai turns to look at me and he’s smiling. “Yes, you’re you; and you’re funny, silly, sweet, and care a lot about the people you’re close to.” Hokuto-senpai bumps my shoulder with his and adds, “Besides, with everything that’s happened today, I think it was painfully obvious how much I like you.”

I play with my hair. “Well… Mitsuru says that I tend to overthink things.”

Hokuto-senpai leans into my side and says, “I read the letter you had Anzu give me.”

I put my face in my hands and groan. “Oh, I completely forgot about that. That has to be the most embarrassing thing I’ve done all _year_.”

He laughs. “I don’t think it’s embarrassing. I think it’s sweet. I was smiling when I read it.”

I look up at him. “Really?”

“Really. I put it in my pencil case after I read it to keep it safe. I don’t want it to get ruined.”

My embarrassment fades and I start smiling. Hokuto-senpai likes me back. _He likes me back!_ As that sets in I get excited again and give him a giant hug without thinking about it.

Hokuto-senpai’s face is hot against my cheek and he stutters, “T-Tomoya? W-w-w-what’s this for?”

My smile turns into a big grin and I reply, “I’m just happy, that’s all.”

Hokuto-senpai wraps his arms around my waist, picks me up, takes a few steps back, then spins me around. I laugh and when he sets me down, he says, “I’m happy, too. I like you, Tomoya. I like you a lot.”

I lean up, kiss Hokuto-senpai’s cheek, and say sweetly, “Hokuto-senpai, I like you a lot, too.”

He loosens his hold on my waist just enough so I can look him in the eyes then murmurs, “You know, when we’re together, you don’t need to call me senpai. Just my given name is fine.”

“Okay. Wanna come over and spend the night at my house, Hokuto?”

“I’d absolutely love to, Tomoya.”


End file.
